adj
prone
prohn
adj
1
Likely to suffer from or do something, usually something negative.
"This part of the coast is prone to flooding during storms."
"He's prone to exaggeration when telling stories."
2
Lying flat with the face down.
"The soldiers moved into a prone position before firing."
How to Use Prone
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither lying face-down, or having a tendency toward something (often bad).
Common mistake
Prone always describes lying face-down; the opposite, lying face-up, is "supine."
Easily confused with
supine
Common pairings
prone to error
accident-prone
lie prone
Word Forms
proner comparative, more prone comparative, proned past tense, prones singular, pronest superlative, most prone superlative
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “prone”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
This part of the coast is _____ to flooding during storms.
Etymology
From Latin prōnus ("bent forward, inclined"), from prō- ("forward").